For Mickey's Sake
by irpirate
Summary: He was just a lonely and misunderstood guy who had his heart broken. Then he met the boy with a big heart who picked up the pieces...He just didn't expect it to cost a life though. [AU, SoraRiku]
1. Part One: Chapter1

**Disclaimer for this story and all its chapters to come: I do not own.**

* * *

**For Mickey's Sake**

Dedicated to Miya who,

I have this gut feeling,

is out there always piled

with an enormous workload

and is still able to fangirl

along side with me.

DO YOUR BEST!

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**Part One**

The Identity of the Boy Recluse

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Chapter One

**E**ven as a young boy, Riku Akemi showed an uncanny talent for dance.

His gift and inspiration were bestowed upon him by his loving parents who just happened to be nationally recognized ballroom competitors. Their romance that sparked interest in daily star studded gossip television shows often described their relationship as "two lovers brought together by destiny: their fiery dedication to dance."

It was innocent at first, yes. Boy meets Girl. Boy and Girl fall madly in love with each other. Boy and Girl want to spend the rest of their lives together forever and ever…truly romantic indeed.

Though, love is all but a walk in the park, especially in the notorious business of entertainment.

There came a time when the young couple discovered the unpleasant secret of fame and fortune. That there was someone always out to get you; that people who you considered as friends (and even family) were actually not who they were at all. The reality of their once happy world was built upon lies, envy and hate; everything was a fake—everything but the young couple's honest love for one another and their passion for dance.

Mr. Akemi and the soon-to-be Mrs. Akemi came to the conclusion that enough was enough and took hold of their own destiny. Their actions were all over the headline news during the time.

**PARTICIPANTS IN 7****TH**** ANUAL BALLROOM DANCE NATIONALS DROP OUT**

Rumors of Famous Couple Retiring Circulate the Dance Floor

**PRIZE MONEY AT RECENT DANCE COMPETITON MYSTERIOUSLY DISAPPEARS**

Connection with Famous Ballroom Couple?

**MONEY SCANDAL CREATES FAMILY FEUD**

Business Tycoon Disowns Daughter

**FANS SHAKE THEIR HEAD IN DISAPPROVAL**

Dance Idols Vanish, Where Have They Gone?

Indeed, the couple left their high-strung life of fortune and fame for one which they saw more appropriate. It came in the form of an abandoned two story building between an Italian butcher shop and a body building gym. It was certainly not their dream home; that was for sure. It looked dingy and old, it was very aesthetically displeasing. There was a foul smell from within, something like burnt rubber. They discovered with what evidence that was left—a few bills and machines—the building was most likely a small shoes company in the past. Though, even in its decrepit state it was a beautiful start, the young couple thought.

We now fast forward and look upon that same building. It is no longer ugly and in the desolate manner it was five years ago. In fact, through the windowpane glass surrounding the front portion of the first floor we see many people move to a certain beat. They are dancing across the mahogany wooded floors as lights of different colors reflect off the paneled wall mirrors and add to the joyous frenzy. Upon the door, which keeps the burst of music and lively sounds of happiness within, is a dangling sign which reads:

**Beautiful Dawn Dance Studio**

Lessons for the young and young at heart

Open Monday through Saturday

9 am to 9 pm

(Snacks shall be provided!)

It is easily the most active part of the block when the sun sets. This is not unusual in the least bit, and no one is really bothered by it at all. They peak out through their little windows and smile at the couple who run the Beautiful Dawn Dance Studio because they are one of a kind.

The floor above the studio is just as charming. It is nothing extravagant nor is it uninteresting, but it is everything in between. There are three bedrooms, a kitchen and dinning area which opens up into a family room, and a great bookcase not filled with books but musical records of sorts. There are knick-knacks that have been collected over the span of five years carefully arranged in neat patterns and a family portrait hanging close to the entrance (or in this case, an exit down to the studio). The bedroom which faces the street is elevated for it was the main office of the previous company. Now it is a nautical themed boy's bedroom. There are green curtains imitating the likeness of seaweed, a purple octopus night light in the corner, and a treasure chest filled with toys at the foot of a bed among many other sea related items. There is a bed with fluffy underwater explorer's print comforters, but the little boy who sleeps in it is not there. Instead he is sitting on the bay window watching the street below.

Riku Akemi should be fast asleep actually (it is an hour past his bedtime), but he is waiting for his parents to do their nightly ritual of checking up on him. He does not usually do this, no. He usually waits on his bed.

Tonight, though, he is excited. He wants to tell his parents about what he learned in school that day.

It went something like this: Ms. Bell asked her class the infamous question of '_what would you like to be when you grow up?_' Many little hands shot up to voice their opinions while others just blurt it out loud. Believing that even at a young age there must be some resemblance of organization, the kind teacher explains to her class that they would share in order of their rows.

Riku Akemi knew he was in the first row and fifth person from the teacher's right. He was generally a nervous and shy child, therefore participating in class discussions would be something new, like riding a big boy's bike (only two wheels!). What was he to do? He was only _five years old_, how was he to know what he wanted to be for the rest of his life?! It was not fair, he thought.

The first child who shared was Tidus Merrick. Riku knew him on account that the blond boy was the snot-nosed bully who lived next door and had gotten into several scuffles with. He wanted to be a detective. Selphie Tilmitt went next and Riku knew her too. She was very happy and bouncy and loved animals. She wanted to run her family's butcher shop when she grew up.

Riku began to chew on his bottom lip, very aware that there were only two other children before him. He did not know them or their names, but he paid close attention so that maybe he wouldn't be as nervous and scared as he already was. The girl with red hair stood up in a polite manner and said that she would like to be the first female President of Destiny Island. The teacher commented at how lovely and aspiring the little girl was.

Riku frowned. There was one more child before it was his turn. He was a boy with unusually big eyes. It reminded Riku of an owl. He jumped from his seat and exclaimed that he wanted to be a super hero and proceeded to do a reenactment of how he would fight off the villain. All the children, except Riku, laughed at his silliness and Ms. Bell advised him to sit down. The boy with owl eyes scratched the back of his head in embarrassment and scuttled over to his seat. He then turned to Riku, who was still nervously biting his bottom lip, and gave him a big smile accompanied by a thumbs up.

Surprised, Riku Akemi returned a hesitant smile. He did not understand or know the meaning of this, but the random act seemed to calm him down. It was his turn to share and share is what he did. He told his classmates that he would be someone who could make a difference, someone who would make lots of munny. And when he thought about it, the '_getting up in front of the class and talking thing_' wasn't all so bad.

Riku looked down from his spot by the window and noticed that lessons were over. It was quite late already, but that was to be expected (Friday nights were Salsa nights and it occasionally ran late). People began exiting the studio below and walking off in the direction of their homes ready to soak their sore feet after a long day's work.

In one swift motion, the little boy jumped down from the window seat to his bed and underneath his aquatic covers and awaited his parents' arrival. However, when a minute passed and another and another and another, Riku fidgeted. He shuffled off his bed and bent down to place his head on the floor. He listened, intent on hearing something, _anything._

The little boy did hear something, though it wasn't what he expected. Instead of the upbeat salsa music—that he was sure had been playing minutes ago—there was a _floating_ kind of melody, one he had not heard before.

Tip toeing through the hallway and down the stairs—making sure to hold the railing as he went down (his mother told him countless times to do such as to be careful not to trip and fall)—he reached the door which connected their house to the dance studio below. From there he could hear the music quite clearly, even if he did not know it yet, the music which was playing was for a waltz. He braved a little peek.

Riku Akemi watched in awe as his parents glided around the dance floor with an assortment of colored lights illuminating the room. Blinking from red to blue to green and yellow, Riku had to rub his eyes and blink thrice to adjust to the bright lights.

His father and mother moved with such fluidity and grace, it felt like each step they took had this burning flurry of passion. It was like nothing he'd _ever_ seen before. Instead of those silly dances his parents were so happy to teach the neighbors (the Macarena and chicken dance), here they were dancing like—and he was very much convinced—like _magic_.

It was in this moment that Riku Akemi, who was pale and had a case of bad bed hair stood in doorway looking quite short and strange-looking for his age in matching fishy printed pajamas, continued observing with astonished aqua-colored eyes and rightfully decided that a dancer was what he had to be.

The little boy surprised his parents as he ran across the dance floor and joined them with great ease. It was a never ending dance the three of them shared: all laughing and out of breath and overjoyed while dancing to the melodious beat.

Who cared about being a businessman, anyway?

This was way cooler.

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**A/N: Gasp! The story may seem slow but bear with me. This is actually the SIXTH time I've re-written the beginning of this fic. I'm really trying for something a bit different. **_**Slow and steady wins the race,**_** right?! Ha-ha. More importantly: I'm looking for a beta reader (for I don't dare to bother my official one because she is busy, methinks). So if you have nothing better to do and find this story the least bit interesting, please do leave a review or email me or can telepathically communicate to me, whatever is easiest for you! OK, till next chapter!!**


	2. Part One: Chapter 2

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**Part One**

The Identity of the Boy Recluse

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Chapter Two

**W**hen Riku Akemi turned ten, he received his first pair of professional dance shoes.

Everyone gathered at the table in the center of Beautiful Dawn Dance Studio which had been decorated with a '_Happy Birthday Riku!_' banner and a few balloons here and there. His family was there: Mr. and Mrs. Akemi and a bump that was his soon-to-be baby brother or sister as well as a few neighbors: Mrs. Tilmitt and her daughter and Tidus Merrick. On that day, Riku wore a small yellow party hat along with a blue shirt and matching swimming trunks. Everybody, sporting their own yellow party hats, stood around him and cheered as he opened gift after gift.

His gifts that year were quite _interesting_: From Mr. Akemi, he received an old vinyl music record, one which Riku was sure he had seen in his father's 'favorites' stash; from Mrs. Akemi, a music box which contained a pair of dancers that twirled when opened, though for some reason, there was no music playing; from Mrs. Tilmitt, a maroon cardigan which was two sizes too large for him. From Selphie, Riku got a little fish bowl with two plump goldfishes which were not in any way, shape, or form affiliated with the ones that disappeared from Mr. Merlin's fish pond across the street (Selphie forcefully persuaded everyone so) and from Tidus Merrick, a blitz ball which looked suspiciously worn and had weathered initials of '_TM_' scribbled in black ink.

Finally, Riku stared down at his last gift.

Wrapped in shiny yellow paper, its blue card read '_Happy Birthday My Big Brother!_' Beside him, Selphie—who managed to place two party hats atop her head—and Tidus were wildly blowing their noise makers into each other's ears. Ignoring his two friends, Riku opened the box which he suspected was from none other than his mother and father (for it is impossible to have a sibling give you a gift when they have not yet been born, his young mind concluded).

As Riku lifted the stiff cardboard lid, the noise makers went quiet and a profound silence rung throughout the room. Everyone waited in anticipation for what the boy's reaction would be.

What Riku saw was more than his little eyes, heart, and mind could take.

Within the box, placed neatly side by side, was a pair of shoes. They were very simple in design, black and white curved in even patterns and etched onto buttery soft leather. Truth be told, they looked like an ordinary pair of professional dance shoes, one that could be easily bought at the local shoe boutique. Yet this did not bother the birthday boy at all, for when he slipped them on in a hurried and frenzied fashion, something amazing happened. Riku felt like a lost part—the missing key to his heart– had been suddenly found and this great, _great_ feeling only grew larger and larger, filling up his heart, his chest, his entire being and radiated well onto the dance floor.

No words needed to be said. As the boy stood staring down at his covered feet, the wide smile plastered upon his face was enough for everyone to realize that even if it did not match all too well: Riku had fallen in love with his first pair of professional dance shoes tied by a magnificently unique set of yellow shoestrings that made it all the more special.

What happened next was this: The scratchy, mangled sound of old dance music blasted from the old-fashioned player making everyone jump in surprise. Mrs. Akemi stood by the purple gramophone, in all her pregnant splendor, smiling sheepishly as she hugged her rotund stomach. Mr. Akemi let out a hearty laugh, kneeled down and with his baritone voice, whispered into Riku's ear–"_Give 'em a try, son_."

As the music's upbeat melody became apparent, Riku took three steps into a more suitable portion of the dance floor and started to dance. His feet felt lighter and moved more fluidly; moving across the dance floor in elegant steps and leaps. He was dancing better than ever before! As he twirled and jumped and bounded and just flew, he felt that this was the beginning of something much more. Maybe his new shoes were _magic_, granting him this awesome ability so that he could save the world with dance! Or maybe, maybe, it was this satisfying emotion that all the people he held dear were right there at that moment, together and happy, which unleashed this dancing hero. Whichever it was, the first floor of Beautiful Dawn Dance Studio overflowed with hoots of laughter.

Selphie mingled with Riku, dancing in clumsy circles and her outbursts just as noisy as the music itself. Tidus watched moodily, trying to conjure up what was so great about some shoes that did not even look that cool; certainly his gift was better—before Mrs. Tilmitt dragged the blond boy with her to dance with the children. Tidus was not a very good dancer. Mr. and Mrs. Akemi stood at the sidelines watching the silly bunch while swaying at a slower pace, taking great care with the precious bump on Mrs. Akemi's stomach.

Time trickled by and soon it was time for the second half of Riku's birthday celebration. The adults went about doing their adult things—packing up the necessities: sunscreen, towels, food— as the children went to the second floor to put Riku's gifts away.

On the way up, Selphie thought she had stepped on a daddy long legs spider, brutally ending its life, which resulted in a chain of events causing Riku to almost loose his balance on the narrow strip of stairs and leaving Tidus drenched in more than half of the goldfish water. To Selphie's relief, it was just a dark stain on the step, therefore she deemed everything _OK_. The goldfishes, fortunately, remained unharmed during all of this and were properly restored their water, courtesy of the bathroom sink. With the gifts placed on top of Riku's (still) marine covered bed and the fish bowl positioned in a safe spot atop the bedside dresser, the children ran back down amid hearts filled with thrill. Today they would go to the beach!

_The beach, the beach,_

_Oh wondrous beach._

_Let your sands tickle our feet,_

_And your waters cool us from all this heat!_

_La la la la!_

The children sang their silly song (made up during the ride to the seaside) as they ventured through the treacherous troughs of sandcastles and the plastic bins of potato salad and, we must not forget, the hills and valleys of sun burnt bodies. The peak of summer drew in such large crowds that finding a spot among the mass of beach goers served as a challenge. After a good ten minute walk from the parking lot, the group stumbled underneath the decent shade of palm tree, not too far off from the shore. Like a moth to a flame, Riku, Selphie and Tidus took off towards the enticing ocean at lightning speed (or as fast as their little feet could carry them, though to their young minds it was the same).

They played together, making sure to allot a portion for sand activities and then swimming in the refreshing waters to cool off. It was when the trio was amusing themselves with building the best sandcastle ever that Riku looked up to check if his parents noticed their splendid creation. To his dismay, they were nowhere in sight.

Curious, Riku excused himself from his friends. He walked over to Mrs. Tilmitt to ask where his mother and father had gone and found himself walking back to the parking lot. There he saw his father helping his mother, who with great difficulty, was trying to get into their aged station wagon. He ran, his bare feet clapping against speckled grains of sand and hot asphalt, and called out to them.

"What's the problem, son?"

"Dear, we're going to get you your cake."

Riku shook his head _yes_ before he replied, "Will you be back soon?"

Mr. Akemi gave Riku a pat on the head before walking around to the driver's side, "We'll try. Your mother _here_ wants to buy you one from across town…Tell her you don't really need one from all the way there, ha-ha-ha."

"Now, now," Mrs. Akemi interjected as she rolled down her window, "the cakes there are absolutely exquisite. Riku dear, please be careful. Make sure Mrs. Tilmitt knows where you and your friends are at all times. We'll be back before you know it."

"OK Mum."

"Aw," she sighed dreamily. Mrs. Akemi reached a delicate hand towards her son, beckoning him to come closer, "My son has grown up so fast! Does this mean hugs are no longer necessary?"

"Of course not, Mum!"

Riku gave his mother a hug, as awkward and uncomfortable as it was doing such through a car window, but it was well worth it. His mother's embraces always made him happy.

On his way back, Riku could see his two friends busying themselves with the sand. Tidus was very preoccupied with fortifying their castle walls and did not notice the mischievous Selphie behind him. In one swift swoop, the back of Tidus' blond head became acquainted with Mr. Sandy Ball. And then his back. And then his chest, once he had turned around. There was a scramble between the two and Riku could not wait to join in their sand ball fight. His pace became quicker, maybe he should go for a surprise attack, he thought.

As he weaved through a small crowd, a ghastly screech brought forth panicked shouts and cries which caught the whole beach's attention. Everyone hurried in packs towards the source of the commotion, not more than half a mile away from the seaside lot. Riku did too. He passed people who clutched their hearts and covered their mouths, whispering '_Oh God, oh God, what's happened? Are they alive? What should we do?' _Others rushed forward hoping their helping hand would save a life.

It was a difficult task, but Riku with his small, gangly frame, was able to catch a glimpse of the scene by squeezing between two plump women's fat and foul smelling sun screen caked legs (very unpleasant as it sounds). His small eyes saw a scruffy man gesturing violently to a large truck toppled over a pile of mess and off to the side, a disconnected car bumper with the Beautiful Dawn Dance Studio sticker.

Local news reports headlined it as:

**FREAK ACCIDENT AT THE BEACH**

Two Dead: Buried Alive While Driving

Though vulgar, very much inappropriate and numerically incorrect, there was really no other way to explain what happened that day. Riku Akemi, at age ten, lost his father, his mother, and his soon-to-be baby brother or sister in a very unfortunate accident.

Mrs. Tilmitt was kind enough to tend to his care until things settled down and important legal matters were taken care of. Riku found himself rooted to the entrance to his room that very night. He was advised to take what important belongings he needed; it could very well be the last time he entered his home for a long while.

He shuffled across his bedroom, not even bothering to turn on a light and crawled atop his bed still littered with gifts. Before he became aware of what he was doing, the top of a box was opened and in his arms, he clutched his yellow stringed shoes. He held them tightly against his chest, wishing that the awful feeling in his chest would vanish; looking for any inclination that his shoes were somehow magical and would grant him one wish; maybe everything was just a dream. He felt so tired and empty. Poor Riku collapsed onto his bed, hugging the shoes tightly—so tight that his tears gushed from his eyes, no longer being able to withhold them. They wouldn't stop, no, not until Riku's eyes were dry and red and itchy, making the little boy look miserable.

Lying on his bed for quite some time, feeling things that no ten year old child should have to feel, Riku noticed the fish bowl illuminated by the bay window light. One gold fish was swimming circles around the other. Around and around it went. The other floated motionlessly. It was dead.

Riku Akemi began tearing up again.

_Why_, he wondered, _why was he left alone?_

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**A/N: Yes, I am that evil to have his parents, his sibling AND his gold fish killed at one go. Wahahaha! No, seriously. This was very heart wrenching and painful for me to write. I've developed a fond spot for these characters. I do hope this depressive chapter doesn't deter anyone from reading this anymore! That would be bad. I wouldn't be surprised, though, my friend said she wanted to strangle me for what I've done to little Riku. I swear, this story is happy…ish. And thank you all for the reviews! My heart goes out to youuuu ;D**


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